Tannis and Manuele had an awesome New York City Wedding!

Tannis was really cool right from the start.  I could tell that she and Manuele, from Italy, were going to be so much fun to take photos of.  The first thing you’ll probably notice is her dress!!!  Yeah well guess what – SHE  MADE IT (read below).  And it was bitterly cold out on this day so Tannis also rocked a cool pair of pink boots (watch for them!).  Manuele, with a very thick Italian accent, is a great guy.  What a cool look with the hat right?  And Tannis loved playing with it.  The two of them were like actors on a set!  So I asked Tannis a few questions about it all, more below the photos!

Tell us a little about you guys?

As for “us” – we met while on vacation in Barcelona.  He was visiting a friend in Barcelona and I was traveling with a couple friends.  I went out alone one evening to have a Sangria and some Paella at a little tapas bar near my hotel.  I first met my friend Lindsey at the bar.  Coincidently, it was her apartment that we stayed in and used for the ceremony, while she was staying in our home in Florence – perfect house swap! After having a Sangria or two with Lindsey, enter Manuele and his two friends.  He tells me that when he walked into the bar and saw me and the empty barstool, he proclaimed that I was the woman of his dreams.  He then claimed his seat next to me while his friends stood! lol  I began to try to speak to him in Spanish as I thought he was from Spain.  This incomprehensible attempt continued for a good 15 minutes until my friend Lindsey leaned over and asked in perfect English, “where are you guys from”.  He responded in English!!!  We spent the night dancing and drinking at a huge Spanish nightclub, met up the next day for brunch and took an afternoon walk at Montjuïc park.  As Manu wrote for our ceremony “how many adventures, how many trips… from Los Angeles to Florence, passing by Paris and Vancouver and finally here in NY.  Many roads traveled and many more to go in this story of love.”

You made the dress????

“Yup, the dress I made, corset and all.  What a great project!  I love projects!  The idea came after watching videos tutorials on how to make a corset by Ralph Pink at http://www.ralphpink.com.  I think I had initially fallen in love with the dresses designed by Ian Stewart (http://www.ianstuart-bride.com), but realized I could never afford one so then searched for videos on how to make a corset – ridiculously ambitious I now realize lol.  Anyhow, there is a bit of story and such on my blog www.diwhybride.blogspot.com.  It’s really behind so link to it if you like or pull info and/or pictures.”

Where are the boots from?

“My boots – funny.  Didn’t really know what to do for shoes because I have trouble with my feet after having been a ballerina for years.  Heels were pretty much out of the question.  I had seen these boots on Amazon.com and thought, well at least they were in the right color spectrum.  A friend here, without having seen the boots, commented that I shouldn’t worry about what the shoes I choose look like so long as they are comfortable.  No one was going to see them anyway 🙂  I ordered them from Italy and had them shipped to my friend’s apartment – luckily they fit!”

And your jewelry?

I purchased the pieces for the necklace here in Florence and then my friend Yeisha and I designed the basic layout.  She’s a bijoux jewelry designer so she really made it come to life.  I’m currently working on her website which will be www.designsby-y.com.  Interestingly enough she is also from Southern California, but now lives in Siena.  Great person and one of my closest friends.

How about Manuele’s attire?

Manuele purchased his shoes here in Florence at a store called Antica Cuoieria (antique leather).  Their website is: http://www.anticacuoieriafirenze.it/en/.  It’s an amazing shoe store that is in the historic center of Florence.  They are still making shoes by hand!

We visited Brooklyn Bridge, DUMBO, Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center and The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.